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Postgame: D.C. United

By: Adam Jardy

The Columbus Dispatch - April 28, 2013 12:19 AM

Jairo Arrieta was all smiles as he sat in his locker at Crew Stadium. After weeks of work, the
forward had worked his way back into the team’s starting lineup and responded with an impactful
performance.

He was only credited with an assist, but Arrieta directly played a role in each of the Crew’s
goals.

After midfielder Eddie Gaven sent in a long cross from the left corner, Arrieta stretched out
and gained possession with his left foot. After a spin and two more touches, he sent a rolling pass
through the box to Dominic Oduro, who easily slotted it home in the 15th minute for his
team-leading fourth goal of the season and third in four games.

Eleven minutes later, Arrieta tracked down an 80-yard, cross-field blast from Gaven, outworked a
United defender and drew the team’s first corner kick of the game. Federico Higuain took it from in
front of the Nordecke cheering section, and his looping cross was redirected by defender Josh
Williams and into the net. It was the first Crew goal not scored by Oduro in 328 minutes, and the
team’s first corner kick in 123 minutes.

Arrieta capped the half two minutes into extra time when he was fouled inside the area by United
defender Brandon McDonald. Higuain took the penalty kick, stuttered and fired high and center for
his first goal since the season-opening win at Chivas USA and the team’s first penalty kick of the
season.

In the first half, Arrieta did everything but score.

“As a forward you always want to get that goal, so that’s a little thing for me, but as long as
I can keep doing stuff for the team and being productive that’s satisfying enough for me,” he
said.

Asked what he had to demonstrate to get back in the lineup, Arrieta said, “I don’t know if
(there was anything I had to) demonstrate, because I’ve been working hard for this team throughout.
Unfortunately with the trip to the national team, I lost the spot but that’s how soccer is. Coming
back I had to work that much harder to show the coach that I came to the team to be a starter.”

Arrieta started at forward while Oduro returned to the wing while Ben Speas dressed but did not
play after starting the last six games. Head coach Robert Warzycha said Speas was one of a few
players who was fatigued.

“(Arrieta) was very active,” Warzycha said. “Not only was he involved in the goals, but he kept
the defense very honest. I think if you look at his game, he’s very highly motivated every single
game. He does exactly the same. He’s working hard and he likes the physical contact so he does
exactly the same. Sometimes he’s just more successful. He was a little bit sharper and he was a
little bit successful with his passing, he was a little bit successful with his runs and obviously
we saw that because he had the first assist on Oduro’s goal.”

Added goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum: “He just brings a lot of energy. He’s a nuisance over there
and he’s not fun to defend against, I’m sure. He’s quick. He’s got a lot of attributes that can
help us our and he’s just another added weapon we can put in there and plug in. He’s dangerous.”&
amp; lt; /p>

Unsung heroI saw that the fans voted him as the man of the match, and his name did not even make my
recap for the paper, but Danny O’Rourke played his best game of the season.

He earned a yellow card, suffered a team-high three fouls and even led the attack on a number of
occasions before being subbed out in the 88th minute.

I went with Arrieta as the man of the match in the paper, but it just as easily could have gone
to O’Rourke.

This fireOh yeah, and the Crew’s scoreboard caught fire less than half an hour before the game.

“I was playing some long balls and I had my back toward the scoreboard,” Konrad Warzycha said. “
The refs were warming up by me and one of the refs looked at me and said, ‘Uh, is it supposed to do
that?’ I looked up, saw the scoreboard on fire and said, ‘Nope, that’s definitely a problem.’ I was
shocked, and then it just started getting bigger. I’m glad the whole thing didn’t catch on fire. It
was definitely a weird thing to see.”

Both teams eventually retreated to their locker rooms during the 50-minute delay, where
Gruenebaum said equipment manager Rusty Wummel initially kept things loose.

“We were popping jokes, listening to Rusty, our equipment manager, make the corniest jokes ever
that were not funny,” Gruenebaum said. “He just seemed to not get the clue that they were not funny
and he kept going. It was kind of a light atmosphere, and then we had to re-focus. Bobby did a
great job getting us refocused and not using it as an excuse. We did a good job coming out early.”&
lt;
/p>

Gruenebaum referenced last season’s home game against Real Salt Lake that was delayed due to
widespread power outages in the area as a similar situation that the Crew could draw from.

“We dealt with a similar situation last year with the power outage,” he said. “You’ve just got
to roll with the punches a little bit, refocus and we’re all professionals.”

Team president and general manager Mark McCullers said the scoreboard will be assessed Monday
and said all options are on the table including a total replacement if necessary.

Asked how the fire affected the start of the game, Gruenebaum deadpanned, “It made it hotter, I
think.”

InjuryMidfielder Agustin Viana suffered what his head coach said he thought was a pulled hamstring
and had to exit in the 20th minute after earning a yellow card for time wasting. He watched the
rest of the game in uniform from the bench and wrote afterward on Twitter, “Hoping not to have
anything serious now thinking about to recover soon!”

Warzycha x2Konrad and Robert Warzycha became the second father-son duo to play for the same MLS team
when the younger Warzycha came on as a substitute in the 85th minute.

“I’m proud,” the coach said. “Obviously he’s a good player and in that moment we needed him on
the field. He’s progressing like the other young players on the club. Obviously it’s something
unique and I’m very proud.”

Konrad said his dad offered only tactical advice before sending him onto the field.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “Ever since I was little and watching my dad play, it’s
something that I’ve dreamed of. To finally get that first appearance on a day like today, the fans
were great, winning 3-0, the whole atmosphere, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Was there any extra emotion from the Crew’s coach? His son did not entirely rule it out when
asked if his dad had any tears in his eyes.

“Not that I saw,” Konrad said. “He kind of turned away pretty quick. Maybe go back to the
cameras and check it out, but I didn’t see anything.”